Archive for the ‘New York Yankees’ Category

ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington said the road to the World Series in the American League usually goes through New York.

The Rangers have New York in their rearview mirror now — disposing of the Yankees 6-1 Friday in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series — but it was somehow fitting that it was Alex Rodriguez who got New York’s last look as the Rangers roared into the World Series.

“It was appropriate or ironic, I don’t know which,” said Rangers general manager Josh Daniels of the called third strike from Neftali Feliz that clinched the first World Series appearance for a franchise that was born in 1961 as the Washington Senators.

Rodriguez remains the face of Rangers past — a past efficiently exorcised Friday — and easily attracts the most wrath among the Yankees from Texas fans. It was his trade in 2004 from a Rangers team that had finished last four years in a row that began the slow and often painful building process that finally has paid off.

“I’ve only been here nine years,” said Daniels, a New York native. “It’s been a long time for me but it’s nothing compared to our fans.”

The fans — 51,404 of them — were on their feet as Feliz cruised through a ninth that was as dominant as the Rangers were for most of the series but almost anti-climatic thanks to a stifling eight innings from Texas starter Colby Lewis.

Save all that Cliff Lee talk for Wednesday in San Francisco or Philadelphia, when he’ll start Game 1.

Lewis, who pitched the last two seasons in Japan, made sure there would be no need for a Game 7 appearance from Lee, whose post-season effectiveness had been so much the talk of this series though he pitched just once.

The Yankees didn’t get a hit until the fifth, when Rodriguez led off with a double and eventually scored to tie the game 1-1. They had three hits all night and never mounted a threat after Texas’ four-run fifth broke open the game.

The Rangers had a runner on second with two outs when Yankees manager Joe Girardi elected to intentionally walk series MVP Josh Hamilton for the second time in the game. It worked two innings earlier when Yankees starter Phil Hughes got Vladimir Guerrero to pop up for the third out.

This time, Guerrero doubled to the wall in left-center field for a 3-1 Rangers lead. Girardi replaced Hughes with David Robertson and Nelson Cruz greeted him a two-run homer.

From there, it was back to the pitching that shut down the Yankees’ star-studded lineup and turned out to be the theme of the series.

“They were able to control our firepower,” said New York center fielder Curtis Granderson.

Indeed. The Yankees hit .201 in the series. Of their 19 runs, 10 came in three innings. The Rangers hit .304, scored 38 runs.

“You take away one inning (a five-run Yankees eight to win Game 1) and one game (New York’s 7-2 win in Game 5) and it was very one-sided,” Girardi said. “They out-hit us, they out-pitched us, out-played us and they beat us.”

Lewis, who also won Game 2, is a Rangers first-round draft pick from 1999 who had turned into little more than a journeyman before heading to Japan in 2008.

“He reinvented himself (in Japan),” Daniels said. “He shortened his arm action, smoothed out his delivery. He added a good cutter. He used to be a four-seam fastball, big-curve guy and tried to throw it by everybody. He’s almost a completely new pitcher.”

He needed to be.

Daniels remembered the old Lewis. Was he really worth bringing back?

“I asked that question,” Daniels said. “You have to ask that question. But, first, he was healthy. Second, he had matured. It takes a lot to pick up your family and move over there.”

Daniels’ questions were answered by his scouting staff.

Josh Boyd, director of pro scouting, pushed for signing Lewis. The Rangers were thorough, making sure more than one set of eyes saw Lewis pitching for the Hiroshima Carp.

“There was Joe Furakawa, Don Welke, A.J. Preller, Keith Boeck,” Daniels said, rattling through members of his scouting department who were part of the decision.

The Rangers took the chance on him as part of a rotation makeover that also included coverting C.J. Wilson from a reliever and trading for Lee in July.

“These guys came together,” said Washington, referring to his entire roster. “I love this team because all they do is show up and play baseball.”

The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the third inning as Victor Martinez hit a two-out single to right field for the game’s first run.

All was quiet until the bottom of the seventh when Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run home run to right-center field to give New York a 2-1 lead on one swing of the bat.

In the ninth, Bill Hall singled to right field and was driven in on a sacrifice fly by Mike Lowell to give Boston the lead, but Robinson Cano singled home the tying run in the bottom of the frame with one out.

Hideki Okajima came in and loaded the bases only to clear them as Juan Miranda drove in the winning run on a walk in the tenth inning. He allowed two hits and that run as he suffered his fourth loss of the season, after Daisuke Matsuzaka threw eight four-hit innings and Jonathan Papelbon blew the save.

Phil Hughes allowed three hits and a run over six innings, while Boone Logan earned his second win of the season.

The Red Sox look to get back on track Monday night as they open a four-game series at Chicago. Monday’s first pitch is at 8:10 as Clay Buchholz faces Mark Buehrle.

* The Red Sox meet their rival Yankees in the final game of a three-game weekend series in the Bronx tonight. The teams meet again to conclude the season next weekend at Fenway Park. New York has taken seven of the first 14 games in the series, while the Sox are 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. Dating back to May 18, the Sox have won five of the last seven against the Bombers.

On the road, one more time: The Red Sox continue their seven-game roadtrip tonight with the finale of three against the Yankees in the Bronx. Following tonight’s game, the Sox begin a four-game series at Chicago to round out the road schedule tomorrow. The Sox have won six road games in a row and eight of the last ten, while the team is 34-24 away from Fenway Park since May 22, the best in the Majors.

For the Record: The Sox are 86-68, good for third in the American League East, tied for fourth in the A.L. and eighth-best in the Majors. Boston has won four of the last eight, but their playoff fates are fading fast. They sit in third place in the division (7.0 games behind the Yankees, elimination number is 2) and second place in the Wild Card (5.5 games behind Tampa Bay, elimination number is 3).

Thanks, Mike: The Sox have designated next Saturday’s game as “Thanks, Mike Night” at Fenway Park to honor Mike Lowell as he retires from baseball after a remarkable 13-year career. The four-time All-Star will be honored during on-field ceremonies before the game.

Spreading the Wealth: The Sox have had 52 players appear in a game this year, most in the A.L. and tied for second in the Majors with the Pirates, behind the Marlins (55). Last season, 52 players also appeared in a game. Boston has used 25 pitchers in 2010, tied for most in the A.L. with the Royals.

In the second, the Sox took a 3-0 lead as Jed Lowrie hit a three-run home run five rows deep in the right field seats (7) with one out. The Yankees got one back one inning later as Curtis Granderson hit a one-out solo shot to right field (22), making it 3-1.

With one out in the fourth, the Sox Darnell McDonald hit a two-run double, while Marco Scutaro hit a two-run single to make it 7-1. In the fifth, Bill Hall broke the game open with a three-run shot to left field (18) with two outs.

The Yankees came storming back, outscoring the Sox 7-0 over the final four innings. In the sixth, Mark Teixeira (31, right) and Alex Rodriguez (26, left) went back-to-back with one out. In the seventh, New York added two more dingers as Nick Swisher hit a two-run homer to right field (28), while Rodriguez hit his second of the game to game to left-center field (27). Teixeira added a two-out solo shot to right-center field (32) with two out in the ninth.

Josh Beckett earned the win as he allowed seven hits and five runs over 6.2 innings to improve to 6-5. Jonathan Papelbon allowed a run in the ninth, but locked up his 37th save. Andy Pettitte was roughed up over just 3.1 innings, allowing ten hits and seven runs to fall to just 11-3.

The Red Sox look to make it two-in-a-row against the Yankees as Jon Lester faces Ivan Nova in the middle game of the series at 4:10 on Saturday.

NOTES

* Numerous reports are saying that the Red Sox have signed infielder Felipe Lopez from the St. Louis Cardinals. The first sign of this move was from CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam.

* First baseman Mike Lowell was still in the clubhouse and told reporters he felt OK after getting hit in the head by a bad-hop grounder.

* CatcherJarrod Saltalamacchia has been shut down because of a torn ligament in his left thumb. Dr. Thomas Graham, a hand specialist, is scheduled to examine Saltalamacchia in Cleveland on Monday.

* The Red Sox meet their rival Yankees in the opening game of a three-game weekend series in the Bronx tonight, their first meeting since the first weekend of August. New York has taken seven of the first 12 games in the series, but are 3-3 at Yankee Stadium. Dating back to May 18, the Sox have won three of the last five against the Bombers.

Series Pitching Change: Dustin Moseley (4-3, 4.94) will take the place of Phil Hughes in Sunday night’s game for New York. Manager Joe Girardi wants to cut back on his innings before the postseason.

On the road, one more time: The Red Sox open their final roadtrip of the season tonight with the first of three against the Yankees in the Bronx. Following this series, the Sox play four games at Chicago to round out the road schedule. The Sox have won four road games in a row and six of the last eight, while the team is 32-24 away from Fenway Park since May 22, the best in the Majors.

For the Record: The Sox are 84-68, good for third in the American League East, fourth in the A.L. and ninth-best in the Majors. Boston has lost four of six, but their playoff fates are fading fast. They sit in third place in the division (7.5 games behind the Yankees, elimination number is 3) and second place in the Wild Card (7.0 games behind Tampa Bay, elimination number is 4).

Spreading the Wealth: The Sox have had 52 players appear in a game this year, most in the A.L. and tied for second in the Majors with the Pirates, behind the Marlins (55). Last season, 52 players also appeared in a game. Boston has used 25 pitchers in 2010, tied for most in the A.L. with the Royals.

Bill Hall legged out an RBI single on the infield, giving the Sox a 1-0 lead in the second inning, while he scored on an infield groundout by J.D. Drew.

Mark Teixiera cut the lead in half on a solo home run to right field (26) in the eighth.

Lester earned the win to improve to 12-7, allowing just four hits and three walks. Daniel Bard squashed a bases-loaded threat in the seventh with two strikeouts and then Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side in the ninth.

Phil Hughes took the loss, allowing six hits and two runs to fall to 13-5.

The Red Sox head north of the border for a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Daisuke Matsuzaka faces Ricky Romero in the opening game on Monday.

NOTES.

* Carlos Delgado was 0-for-3 in his first game for Triple A Pawtucket, a 2-1 loss to Scranton-Wilkes/Barre (NYY) at McCoy Stadium. Jesus Montero hit a two-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning off Robert Manuel, giving the Yankees the win. He flied to left, grounded to third and struck out before being replaced by Ryan Shealy.

The Sox took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a solo home run to left field by Victor Martinez (10) and a line double to right field by Mike Lowell. However, the Yankees came right back on a Curtis Granderson RBI triple and an infield groundout by Ramiro Pena.

New York doubled the score to 4-2 on a pair of singles to right field by Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada in the fifth, while Ramiro Pena added an RBI single to right of his own in the sixth.

Sabathia allowed six hits and two runs over eight innings for his 14th win. He is tied with Minnesota’s Carl Pavano and Tampa Bay’s David Price for the most wins in the American League. Mariano Rivera came in for a perfect ninth and 23rd save.

John Lackey struggled as he fell to 10-7, allowing eight hits and five runs in six innings.

The Sox and Yanks continue their four-game series on Sunday Night Baseball when Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett face-off in a great pitching matchup.